Knots can be used in so many ways, from to make things of art, to save your life. They may be used a stopper, or a binding knot. Others are hitch, loop, running or seizing knots. Many of the knots can be put in several of the groups, depending on use. They can be used when ascending, descending or in rescue. Your safety may depend a lot on knots.

The knot must not change when it's loaded in various directions. The knot shall also be easy to tie up and to loose. Neither shall it damage the rope. A knot always holds its form, whether it is being used or not. A hitch has to be wrapped around something in order to keep its form.

Basic Knots - Figure of eight knot, overhand knot and reef knot
Loops - Tautline knot, bowline
Joining knots - Water knot, (double) fisherman's knot and grapevine knot
Belay knots - Clove hitch and Italian hitch
Friction knots - Prusik knot, Munter hitch and bachman knot
Stoppers - Heaving Line Knot and double overhand

(Italian and Munter knots are the same. Some tie them slightly, slightly different, but essentially they are the same knot.)

I thought I'd collect some knots and instructions on how to make them here. (There will be more as I draw the knots.)

Figure of eight knot

The Figure of eight knot

Probably the most common knot.
If you tie it near the end of the rope, it should be secured with a stopper knot to prevent the knot from un-doing itself.

Usage:
* Tie into harness
* To tie two ropes together.
* Loops on the rope.

Double Fishing Knot

A simple knot but still useful.

Usage:
When you tie two ropes together.
For slings and good for stiffer ropes

Prusik Knot

The Prusik Knot

(Named after Karl Prusik, an Austrian mountaineer, who introduced it in 1931.)

A friction knot which locks when under load, but slides easily along the rope when there's no load on it. Can be used to hold the rope taut.

Usage:
* If you have fallen into a crevasse and are able to climb up yourself.
* If you need to shorten the rope you use this knot.
* When rescuing your partner out of a crevasse, you use it on a safety sling.
* As a self-locking stop when rappelling. Illustrated by Petzl

How to make it:

Step 1 in making a Prusik Knot.	Step 2 in making a Prusik Knot.
Step 3 in making a Prusik Knot.

Water knot/Tape Knot

Water Knot

It is really a Double Overhand Knot. It is also called Ring Bend. I don't know which of these names in English are used where in the English speaking world.
One of the most common knot used to join webbing in climbing and rappelling. When you use the knot, be sure that it has it has enough long tail outside the knot, so it doesn't slip. Or rather, use a stopper.
Derek Franzen adds: "The water knot is dangerous to use with kernmantle rope or perlon slings; it will come un-done, it is perfectly acceptable to use the water knot with flat webbing."

Usage:
* To tie two ropes of equal thickness together.
* To secure the sling around an anchor.

How to make a Tape Knot:

Make Tape Knot 1.	Make Tape Knot 2.
Make Tape Knot 3.	Make Tape Knot 2.

Tautline knot

The Tautline knot (or hitch) is usable as to make tentrope.

An adjustable kind of knot.

This is a knot with a loop that grows easily. You simply slide the knot up the rope towards the free end. It will not slide by itself. If you make the loop bigger, it stays that way, it won't shrink when pressure is applied. The most common way to use this knot is as tentrope. The loop-end goes to the stakes in the ground. Attach the loose end to the telt, and the loop around the stake. Then you tighten or loosen the loop by sliding the knot on the rope.
Usage:
* Tent rope
* To tye yourself to a rescue rope thrown to you, if you have fallen into the water.

How to make it:

How to knot a tautline. Step 1.

How to knot a tautline. Step 2.

Heaving Line Knot

A stopper knot.
As a stopper, it's used to prevent the free end of a rope from slipping through the knot due to a heavy load.

It's easy to make and can be used to add weight to the end of the rope, when you want to throw it. The amount of loops you wrap around the bight decides how big (long) the knot will become.
If you have a horse back rider in the house, they know this one by heart.

Usage:
* As a stopper
* Collect the rope to a heavy mass, so it's easier to throw
* To make a halter, when you need to lead a horse

How to make a Heaving Line Knot:

When step 3 is done, pull the rope below the wraps, (the standing part), to tighten the knot.

Make a Heaving Knot step 1.

Make a Heaving Knot step 2.

Make a Heaving Knot step 3.

Italian Hitch/Munter Hitch

The Italian/Munter hitch

A "hitch" is a knot which secures a rope to something, as a post or a ring. The Italian Hitch or Munter Hitch is also called the Half Hitch. It's extremely easy to do.

This hitch is a friction knot. It's reversible, it can be pulled from either side of the rope and it works just as effectively from both sides.

As a belay system it's very effective, but it requires strength. A cool head helps too. It's mostly used in emergency situations, as it wears on the rope, it creates twists in the rope when rappelling. (But the same phenomena happens when you use a too tight prusik or similarly with a figure of eight, too.) The carabiners used for this belaying technique are called HMS carabiners.

Usage:
* To belay
* To rappel

How to make it:
Make two loops, on each side of the rope, fold them over and put a carabiner through.

How to make a Italian hitch, step 1.

How to make a Italian hitch, step 2.

This is an alternative description, not my drawings, but copyright-free released from Wikipedia. I think it's a very good description.

Bowline Knot

The Bowline is a very common loop knot. It does not jam.
It can be tied the normal way, or lefthanded. "The normal" has the knot inside the loop. Some says it's not reliable because it slips when under pressure, others the opposite. Those latter maintains that it's one of its best features. Depends quite a lot on how long you leave the running end.
This knot can be made one-handed, I will show that another day.

Use a stopper, to prevent the free end of a rope from slipping, if using this for rescue, carrying somebody.

Usage:
* To rescue, carry somebody (use a stopper!)
* whenever a loop is needed, to tie around something
* Can be used to tie two ropes together (but there are much better knots for that)

How to make a Bowline Knot:

Make a small loop (NOTE: direction) and pass the free end up through the loop, around behind the standing part of the rope, and back down through the loop. A chant used by many to remember this knot is:
"The rabbit comes out of the hole,
round the tree,
and back down the hole again".
The hole is the small loop, and the rabbit is the running end of the rope.

Make a Bowline Knot step 1.

Make a Bowline Knot step 2.

Make a Bowline Knot step 3.

Clove Hitch

The Clove Hitch is a binding knot.
It's a quick and easy knot, and easy to adjust. It's easy to untie even after a load has been applied to it. It's an old knot, it's really two half hitches lying in opposite directions around a post. It's convenient when one needs to temporarily fasten a rope to a post or carabiner. Without extra support, it is not very trustworthy.

It requires a load in each direction in order to not slip. Pull length-wise only at both ends before you load the working end, it spills if the standing part is pulled forcibly in the wrong direction, especially if the load is swinging or rotating.
It can also be worked lose by repeatedly varying the angle of the pull. One can add one or two half hitches on the standing line for a more secure attachment.
Don't rely on it with a slippery rope.

Usage:
* For belaying
* Temporary securement

How to make a Clove Hitch:

Make a Clove Hitch step 1.

Make a Clove Hitch step 2.

Reef knot

Reef Knot

The Reef Knot is a binding knot. Called Square Knot in American English.

A very basic knot, and the first one I learned as a young girl scout. it is easy to untie. It is very popular as a general-purpose binding knot, and since it's so easy to tie and beautifully symmetrical, its weakness is unthought of. It spills easily if one of the free ends is pulled outward. It shall only be used with ropes of the same thickness.

Don't use it to join two ropes together. It can unexpectedly spill. It seems secure, but that is decieiving. (Some claim that misued reef knots cause more deaths and injuries than all other knots combined.)

Usage:
* To secure something that will not move much
* For bandages, with cloth it's a secure knot
* To make a handle

How to make a Reef Knot:

"Tie right over left, left over right".
The working ends of the reef knot must be "cis" (both at the top or both at the bottom); the other ends leading to the full rope. Otherwise, it's a thief knot. Two consecutive overhands of the same handedness will make a granny knot.

Thief Knot, NOT a Reef Knot	This is a Thief Knot. Notice the difference towards the Reef Knot, how the ends of the rope go.
Granny Knot, NOT a Reef Knot	This is a Granny Knot. Notice the difference towards the Reef Knot, how the slings of the rope go.

Sheepshank Knot

A shortening knot.
The knot is only secure under tension, since it falls apart easily when tension is removed. But under tension, it's really a good, strong knot.

The knot is a flattened loop, which is held at each end by a half hitch. If the sides of the flattened loop are pulled away from each other, the knot falls apart, but if the free ends are pulled taut, then the knot remains secure.

The knot provides you with two loops, one at each end of the knot which can be used to pass a rope through. If used to take the strain off a worn area of rope, the worn area must be in the center turn of the knot so that the tightened outer turns bear the weight.

The fact that it falls apart when tension is removed, is very valuable in certain situations. Other knots will be hard to undo if the knot has been placed under great tension. It save some tempers compared to trying to untie a too hard fastened knot, after a load has been delivered. The sheepshank will fall apart immediately.

Usage:
* To bypass a frayed section of rope
* To shorten or remove slack from it
* For tying loads down, (like on a trailer or truck)

How to make a Sheepshank Knot:

When pulled at the rope ends, it's a reliable and strong knot. If pulled in the bight in the middle, it falls apart.

Make a Sheepshank Knot step 1.	Make three loops in the same direction.
Make a Sheepshank Knot step 2.	Pull the left side of the center crossing through the loop at the left, and the right side of the center loop to the right.
Make a Sheepshank Knot step 3.	Pull on the loops you just formed and then on the standing parts so that the outer crossing turns tighten around the loops. (If the rope becomes slack, the outer crossings turns will loosen their grip and the entire knot will fall apart.)

Racking Knot

Racking Knot.

I'm sorry, but I don't really know the name of this one, only how it works.
I named it Racking Knot, but if somebody knows the real name, please be kind to notify me. I guess it belongs to Friction Knots, since it's usuable with the Prusik Knots.

It's useful when you want to rack ropes tightly. A Prusik knot on the cords, and then a wrap it around itself. Put the loops through a carabiner. When you want to use the ropes, unhook and then just shake it and the knot unfolds.

Usage:

* To rack ropes comfortable

How to make it:

How to make a Racking knot, step 1.

How to make a Racking knot, step 2.

Kleimheist Knot

The Kleimheist Knot is a friction knot.

Both the Prusik and Kleimheist knots are designed to slide along a rope when the body of the knot is held, but they will grip when loaded through the sling.

It's easier to tie and untie than the Prusik knot and locks off as well. It's be more easy to release by loosening the loop at the bottom of the knot, than with a Prusik knot.

It doesn't get as tight as the Prusik, so when load is released, it's easier to break friction. One can add more turns to increase friction. It's best to use a rope which is slightly (1 or 2 mm) thinner than the rope they are tied to.

If you do a rappel with a too tight Prusik or Kleimheist, the rope can twist.

Usage:
* As a simple ascender

How to make a Kleimheist Knot:

How to make a Kleimheist Knot step 1.

How to make a Kleimheist Knot step 2.

How to make a Kleimheist Knot step 3.

Joining Ropes for Rappel

Double guides' knot.

From Brenta.

A knot that is used to join ropes together f�r a rappel. A loosened Double Guides' Knot.

Details are important.
To tie this knot, start as for the overhand, but wrap the tails of the ropes twice and then thread them through the double loop.
Dress well and pull tight.

;-)
I have not done the "Double Overhand Knot" yet, and it seems to as I don't have to...

Make a Double guides' knot step 1.

Make a Double guides' knot 2.

Links

Animated knots by Grog

A superb website, thanks Xim, for link.

Coming

The Bachman

Images



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